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Blockbuster
Worth mentioning, because I was curious about this until I looked it up (lawyer-mind that I have): Blockbuster Video's Danish arm, Blockbuster Video Denmark, reportedly sold the Danish rights to the Blockbuster name/trademark to TDC in 2013.
Re: Blockbuster
That's true - we acquired the trademark in 2013, but not only for Denmark, so soon Blockbuster will launch in other Nordic countries too.
Ariella
4/26/2017 5:55:30 PM
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Re: Blockbuster
@Clara Intersting, and here I thought it was just a name from the past decade. I take it you structure it differently than it was set up in the US, though.
Re: Blockbuster
Yes - US still owns the overall trademark, but we bought the rights to launch a digital service. We use the same branding, logo and identity but the solutions is very different. Blockbuster was a strong household movie brand in Denmark even though the psychical shops were outdated, the brand is well perceived as a digital service.
Ariella
4/26/2017 7:07:02 PM
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Re: Blockbuster
@Clara it goes to show that for all our global connections, name brand associations really can vary widely by region.
Adi
4/27/2017 11:33:03 AM
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Re: Blockbuster
Ariella - Blockbuster hung around in the UK as well for a while after it closed down in the US, if I remember correctly. Again, I think it was a different corporate entity. And I think it probably has better brand connotations here as well.
In the US, unfortunately, the brand became synonymous with late fees more than anything else. It's a bit like Goliath now --famous because David (Netflix) killed it.
Ariella
4/27/2017 12:03:03 PM
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Re: Blockbuster
@adi I never used it myself, but I just associate the brand with the old way of doing things: going into a physical store to pick up a physical video that then had to be returned to it. I also know that the ubiquitous stores disappeared from the landscape several years back. In fact, I recently checked out a book that centered around the video store business and thought it seemed way too quaint for something set within the present decade. The only thing really comparable I see today are vending machines for movies in the lobbies of supermarkets.
freehe
4/30/2017 7:13:16 PM
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Re: Blockbuster
@Ariella, good point. Blockbuster went out of business because of bad leadership. They did not have anyone in the company who was forward-thinking or it they did the didn't listen to their recommendations. They could have provided competition for Netflix.
elizabethv
4/30/2017 8:59:08 PM
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Re: Blockbuster
@freehe - That's an extremely valid point. I have to wonder if leadership had been more willing to work with consumer demands and changing with the times they might have been able to salvage their brand in the States. I believe they tried allowing customers to get DVD's through the mail at the very end of their life (I believe, why do I think this?) but it may have been too little too late.
Re: Blockbuster
@Clara: Thanks so much for clarifying!
Are you at liberty to discuss potential timelines or other details of those expansion plans?
Re: Blockbuster
By soon I mean really, really soon - a few months.
Adi
4/27/2017 11:26:20 AM
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Re: Blockbuster
Exciting stuff, Clara. We'll look out for the announcement.
And many thanks for responding to our queries.
freehe
4/30/2017 7:11:05 PM
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clrmoney
4/26/2017 2:38:50 PM
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Demark VOD
I think thei is great for Denmark having VOD with traffice of 700% and having customers at 40% which is a righ rate they said so they should continue what they are doing if it works for them.
elizabethv
4/28/2017 10:25:00 PM
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Awesome!
I never really had a "negative" view of Blockbuster. I grew up loving them (exciting for a kid to get to go pick out a new movie to watch) and they were closed before I could really rent from them myself and get upset about any kind of late fee issue. So really, they are more like a friendly neighbor who moved away before I was old enough to realize they were trashing the neighborhood. Sure people talked after he was gone, but it was always just that to me. :-) It's kind of neat to hear that Blockbuster still has a positive image in Nordic countries and can take on a new life. Personally, I'd be okay with checking out an electronic Blockbuster service here in the States too.
dcawrey
4/30/2017 11:39:45 AM
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Re: Awesome!
Licensing the Blockbuster name is really smart. I think someone could do a really good job with nostalgia streaming using that name in the United States. Maybe only stream content from the 80s and 90s?
elizabethv
4/30/2017 8:48:07 PM
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Re: Awesome!
@dcawrey - I was thinking of something similar, though you took it further with only 80s and 90s content. I think that's brilliant. I would imagine there is still a fair number of people in the States that would have a favorable impression of the brand. Especailly people around my age who were just kids when Blockbuster was having its hayday and never really developed a negative relationship with them.
dlr5288
4/30/2017 2:52:12 PM
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Re: Awesome!
I feel the same way! I didn't know the Blockbuster name had any negative connotation about it. I just rmemeber being young and excited when my parents would take me there and I would be able to choose a movie. It was always a special treat back then!
JohnBarnes
4/30/2017 4:10:21 PM
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Re: Awesome!
The trouble with Blockbuster's associations, to me (aside from its being something I did fairly often with an ex-wife), is that part of their pitch was that even though it was much less trouble and expense than actually going to the movies, it had an "event" quality about it; you went to the store, picked what you want, perhaps waited in line, before going home to your frozen pizza and jammies. (Actually only a few of us froze our jammies before watching movies). The little bit of extra trouble at the store reminded you that it was the main thing you'd be doing tonight, quite possibly with other people.
It was a low-trouble version but it preserved that feeling of "occasion." I don't know whether anyone wants to bring back the "occasion" feel (and the nostalgia that went with it) enough to tolerate the bother.
Michelle
4/30/2017 4:29:07 PM
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Re: Awesome!
@John I agree. We spent many hours choosing our weekend flicks. Going to the video store was indeed an event. You showed up as soon as you could (after work) to be sure you got a copy of a popular new release. It's neat to think of those times, but I much prefer getting discs by mail or just streaming. There is little fanfare these days, but that's ok. I have enjoyed the advantages of no late fees and hard deadlines to return discs.
JohnBarnes
4/30/2017 5:06:24 PM
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Re: Awesome!
There's a fair argument that people who want "event" structures for watching are finding ways to construct them -- twitter crowds that watch the first broadcast, movie parties, family movie nights, etc. But the actual demand for togetherness/events was probably always fairly small, and since the number of people living alone keeps rising (and household size keeps shrinking even in multi-person homes) it seems doubtul that "together events" are ever going to be the basis for an entertainment access market of any size.
elizabethv
4/30/2017 8:54:23 PM
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Re: Awesome!
I had no idea the number of people living alone is rising. That's crazy to me! (Says the person with 3 small children.....) You are right though, Blockbuster did offer kind of an "event" feel to it. Which maybe people just create for themselves anymore. Our family has a family movienight, where I make some kind of special "fun" dinner (this week it will be homemade soft pretzels and sand pudding in a bucket - keep in mind I have little kids) and then we'll pick some movie to watch together, on Netflix or Amazon. So really, Blockbuster could still squeeze in there, if they were an OTT. :-)
freehe
4/30/2017 7:14:50 PM
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Re: Awesome!
@elizabethv, Me too. I was a Blockbuster customer in 2007 but they lost me with the high late fees. I started going to a non-brand name video rental store to save money - they had lower fees and allowed you to view the video for a longer period of time.
freehe
4/30/2017 7:02:34 PM
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OTT
It seems that consumers overseas are more eager to adapt to new technology and their consumer demands are much higher than consumers in the U.S. I wonder why.
elizabethv
4/30/2017 8:57:40 PM
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Re: OTT
@freehe - I don't know that they definitely are more eager to adapt to new technolgy (maybe in Asia this is the case) but if so I would say we have a fairly large older demographic with our baby-boomers and looking into it, not all countries carry that same larger older demographic. India I recently learned actually has a very large young adult demographic. I also think there's at least a reasonably sized demographic with an appreciation for life without technology. Again, I think they've fully embraced technolgy in Asia, so there I could see this being the case.
Re: OTT
It's true that the Nordic countries are very early adapters when it comes to digital services and new technology. I think it's a cultural thing also when you look at gadgets but an important factor is the very high penetration of high speed broadband. This means that the customer experience is very good when streaming. And then there is the factor of high living standards - people has a high average income, which makes the barrier of trying new things a whole lot lower.
Ariella
5/1/2017 12:38:40 PM
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Re: OTT
<And then there is the factor of high living standards - people has a high average income, which makes the barrier of trying new things a whole lot lower. > That's a very insightful observation. We can't forget the simple economics of costs and means that play a role in adoption of new technology.
Re: OTT
It's true that the Nordic countries are very early adapters when it comes to digital services and new technology. I think it's a cultural thing also when you look at gadgets but an important factor is the very high penetration of high speed broadband. This means that the customer experience is very good when streaming. And then there is the factor of high living standards - people has a high average income, which makes the barrier of trying new things a whole lot lower.
freehe
4/30/2017 7:06:17 PM
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Blockbuster
They are doing really great and impressive work. Hopefully some of the large companies in the U.S. will go on the road to learn how they can apply this technology in the U.S.
freehe
4/30/2017 7:09:42 PM
User Rank Platinum
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